Germany’s Commerzbank on Wednesday, May 8, played down the prospects of an immediate takeover approach by a foreign bank following failed merger talks with Deutsche Bank, reported Reuters.
Commerzbank’s finance chief Stephan Engels, speaking to journalists after a sharp fall in first-quarter profit, said he didn’t hear anyone knocking at the door, as he put it.
Both Italy’s UniCredit and Dutch ING Groep have expressed interest in Commerzbank, which is Germany’s second largest lender and 15% owned by the government, sources have said. Unicredit and ING have declined to comment.
A strategy of continuing as a standalone bank remains an alternative, Engels said. “It was before and it is now. I can’t say if it always will be.”
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
